News & Press Releases 2013

DENVER –Joseph A. Smith, Jr., Monitor of the National Mortgage Settlement, issued his final report today regarding the total amount of consumer relief granted by the five banks that are parties to the settlement. The banks disclosed that from March 1, 2012 through June 30, 2013 they have extended $51.33 billion in total relief to 643,726 borrowers nationwide.

DENVER—This November, Colorado voters will decide whether to approve an additional 10 percent state sales tax and a new excise tax of up to 15 percent of retail marijuana sales with up to $40 million each year going to K-12 schools in the state. During the 2012 election, a majority of Coloradans voted in favor of Amendment 64 to regulate and tax marijuana, and it is now a part of our State Constitution. Under the Taxpayers Bill of Rights, however, voters must now specifically approve the additional sales tax and creation of the new excise tax.

DENVER - Attorney General John Suthers announced today that the Denver District Court entered a default judgment against Raymond B. Jones, Jr. (D.O.B. 10/21/76), and several magazine telemarketing companies that he operated.

DENVER—Colorado Attorney General John W. Suthers today announced that his office and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have reached a settlement with Russell and Catherine Dalbey of Boulder for allegedly defrauding consumers with promises of making money by brokering seller-financed promissory notes or privately held mortgage loans. The two are now banned from telemarketing, selling business opportunities and producing or distributing infomercials.

DENVER– Colorado Attorney General John W. Suthers today joined a bi-partisan national coalition of 49 state and territorial attorneys general calling on Congress to amend the law to help fight prostitution and child sex trafficking. In a letter to key members of Congress, the attorneys general advocated that Congress amend the Communications Decency Act to provide criminal jurisdiction to state and local prosecutors.

DENVER—Colorado Attorney General John Suthers today announced that the statewide grand jury has indicted Robert Allen Zickefoose (D.O.B. 07/19/64) on seven counts of securities fraud and theft. Zickefoose is the sole owner and president of Zickefoose Reserves, LLC based in Colorado Springs. The indictment alleges that he was offering unregistered oil and gas investments that were discovered by the Colorado Division of Securities.

DENVER—The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York today ruled that Apple is guilty of conspiring to fix the prices offered for e-books. United States District Judge Denise Cote (SDNY) found “[t]he Plaintiffs have shown that the Publisher Defendants conspired with each other to eliminate retail price competition in order to raise e-book prices, and that Apple played a central role in facilitating and executing that conspiracy.

DENVER—Parties in the case of Cooke v. Hickenlooper have reached an agreement to withdraw the plaintiff’s motion for preliminary injunction. The parties have agreed to language that the attorney general and governor will provide as technical guidance. At issue was what it means for a magazine to be “designed to be readily convertible” to one in excess of 15 rounds and what it means for a weapon to be in the “continuous possession” of its owner. Specifically, the additional guidance is that:

DENVER—An investigation by the Consumer Protection Section of the Colorado Attorney General’s Office has led to the filing of a complaint and the imposition of a temporary restraining order (TRO) against Boobies Rock!, Inc., The Se7ven Group, Say No 2 Cancer, and owner Adam Cole Shryock (D.O.B. 10/22/1979) for deceiving consumers into thinking they were donating money to charity.